


He Could Be A Superhero

by demonicweirdo



Series: Keep You Like An Oath [2]
Category: Teen Wolf (TV)
Genre: Alternate Universe - High School, Angst, Best Friends, First Dates, First Kiss, Fluff and Angst, Friends to Lovers, Growing Up Together, M/M, Mentioned Kate Argent, Misunderstandings, Mutual Pining, POV Derek Hale
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-03-16
Updated: 2015-03-16
Packaged: 2018-03-17 22:02:27
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 5,331
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/3545333
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/demonicweirdo/pseuds/demonicweirdo
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>When he first met Stiles Stilinski, Derek knew they'd be friends immediately. Stiles was running around making airplane noises, and then he was climbing the fence and spotted Derek and gave him a smile, talking around the lollipop in his mouth.<br/>“I'm Sti-ols,” he mumbled. “Wha's your name?”<br/>Derek had been shy back then, and he couldn't take his eyes off Stiles' eyes because they were <em>pretty</em>, and his mum had never told him eyes could be that pretty before.</p>
            </blockquote>





	He Could Be A Superhero

**Author's Note:**

> Here's the promised and long-awaited sequel. This starts when Stiles and Derek first meet, and gives you an idea of what their friendship was like growing up :) and also Derek's point of view, which I think is pretty angsty and important.

When he first met Stiles Stilinski, Derek knew they'd be friends immediately. They had just moved into the house next door to the Stilinskis, and Derek noticed the little boy with the buzzcut and batman sneakers, with his father, who looked like a policeman, playing in the front lawn.

Stiles was running around making airplane noises, but was careful to stay where his dad could see him. And then he was climbing the fence and spotted Derek and gave him a smile, talking around the lollipop in his mouth.

“I'm Sti-ols,” he mumbled. “Wha's your name?”

Derek had been shy back then, and he couldn't take his eyes off Stiles' eyes because they were _pretty_ , and his mom had never told him eyes could be that pretty before.

Stiles took the lollipop out of his mouth and handed it to Derek. Derek reached up and took it hesitantly, and Stiles gave him an encouraging smile.

“I'm Derek,” Derek replied. He put the lollipop in his mouth and Stiles beamed, as though the sharing of lollipops and _germs_ was a rite of passage.

“My mommy's sick,” Stiles told him, his face going solemn. “But dad says she'll be better. We're waiting for her to come home from the hospital.”

Derek nodded and didn't say anything, but Stiles didn't seem to mind. He continued telling Derek about their dog that had just died, and the batman figurine collection he had in his room, and Derek should see them some time? And they can play Batman and Joker but if Derek didn't want to be the baddie then Stiles could, because he wasn't _really_ a superhero anyway, his dad is, his dad saves lives.

Derek thought Stiles could be a superhero one day, but he didn't say so.

* * *

**-Four years later**

By the time they got to middle school, Derek and Stiles were inseparable. Derek liked to climb the fence and walk into the Stilinski household as though he were part of the family, because that's was Stiles did. The Sheriff didn't even mind, and since Derek's parents had split a couple of years ago, he quickly became a father figure to Derek.

When they were thirteen, Derek got kissed by a girl named Paige (which was awkward for them both), and Stiles told Derek he was bisexual.

Stiles was nervous, shuffling his feet and avoiding Derek's eyes, and the words were barely audible.

Derek wasn't very good at words, and was often overshadowed by Stiles' rambling anyway, so he just hugged Stiles, and told him that he could be a Stegosaurus and they'd still be friends. Stiles hadn't needed help coming out to his dad, and was for some reason far more relaxed about it than he was with Derek, but Derek still came along anyway, because he was hungry and Laura had eaten all the snacks in their house after breaking up with her latest boyfriend.

The sheriff had just looked between Stiles and Derek, raised his eyebrows, and said, “Are you two...?”

Stiles when red and Derek choked on a cookie, while Stiles' thumped his back and glared at his dad. “No way, dad!” he protested.

The sheriff held his hands out defensively. “Sorry, it's just, you two did say you were going to get married when you were older-”

“That was just because I wanted custodial rights over his figurines, sir,” Derek said, his voice sort of strained from the choking.

Stiles and the sheriff laughed, and Derek felt proud because they had both been so sad lately, with Mrs Stilinski in the hospital.

* * *

**-One year later**

It took Derek a while to realise why he was so protective over Stiles, why he felt irrationally jealous whenever he would talk about Lydia Martin's curls and Lydia Martin's eyes. Why he would spend so long just staring at Stiles' lips and telling himself that Stiles was just trying to focus on something other than his mother's deteriorating health.

And when Derek realised _why_ , he panicked. He had a crush on Stiles Stilinski. His _best friend_ (his only friend, to be honest). Which couldn't happen. Because Stiles thought of them as brothers, clearly, as friends. It was platonic and if Derek just spilled his feelings everywhere, he would ruin it all. So he tried to find excuses to stay home instead of hanging out with Stiles, terrified that Stiles would call him out on his crush and reject him, treat him with pity.

Derek was grateful for high school.

He felt guilty about it, but the moment he met Erica Reyes, he knew that she was eager to be friends. She was an outcast, like him and Stiles, and she was lonely. So Derek hung out with her and her friend Isaac. He started blowing Stiles' off to the point where he was barely acknowledging him in the hallways. And then, not at all.

If they both left their houses at the same time, they would avoid looking at each other. Stiles had gotten a new friend anyway, someone to replace Derek, and Derek found himself hating him. Scott McCall, the kid who talked more than Derek, who seemed just as eager to hang out with Stiles as Derek once was, who listened to Stiles' rants about movies and his father's health and his worries about his mother.

* * *

**-Two years later**

Claudia Stilinski died when Stiles was fourteen, and Derek was at the door immediately, having ditched the casserole his mother had made because he knew from movies that people didn't appreciate them anyway.

The sheriff let him in with tired eyes and a bottle of whiskey in his hands. He didn't seem to be surprised that Derek was there, after a year of absence, but he didn't look like he'd care anyway. He just jerked his head towards the stairs and stumbled off.

Derek knocked on the door and heard a dull voice say, “Come in.”

But when Derek did, when he opened the door and saw Stiles sitting on the ground, his back against his bed and staring lifelessly at his hands, he wished he hadn't. He hadn't been this close to Stiles for so long, and now there was this guy, taller, with longer hair and broader shoulders and a deeper voice, and Derek didn't know how to cheer him up anymore.

“Derek,” Stiles said without looking up. “What do you want?”

Derek took a hesitant step forward and Stiles tensed. “I...” He cleared his throat. “I just wanted to make sure you're okay.”

Stiles laughed bitterly, and it was an ugly, hollow sound that Derek had never heard before. “Get out. Go home.”

There was a time when Derek considered this house, this _room_ , to be his second home, but he didn't say that. He didn't say anything because what did you say when someone's mother died?

Stiles looked up then, and his pretty amber eyes were dry and empty. There were circles under them, and he looked like he hadn't eaten in days.

“Did I stutter?” His voice had no bite in it, nothing but monotone.

“Stiles-”

Stiles ducked his head again. “Derek, my mother-” his voice broke. “My mother is gone. You haven't talked to me for a year, you haven't seen _her_ in a year, so why are you here? To ease your conscience, your guilt?”

Derek shook his head. “No, Stiles, I just... I needed to see you. I'm... I'm sorry.”

Stiles let out a shaky breath. “You're forgiven,” he said absent-mindedly.

“Do you want me to stay?”

Stiles shook his head. “No. I need Scott, he's... uh, I think he's coming soon. He should be coming soon. He said he will.” The words didn't sting because they weren't intended to sting. Stiles wanted his best friend by his side.

“I'll... I'll go, then,” Derek said reluctantly, because Stiles didn't look like he needed to be alone. Derek wanted to cross the room, wrap him up in his arms, hold him to his chest until he fell asleep. He turned back to Stiles. “Actually, no.”

“No?” Stiles echoed, a frown on his face.

“I'm going to cook you dinner, Stiles, you look like you haven't eaten in days. Or slept.”

Stiles crushed a hand through his hair and blinked at the ground. “Okay,” he whispered, and something in Derek's chest relaxed that Stiles wasn't fighting him on this.

He made spaghetti and meatballs, dishing out a bowl for Stiles and putting the leftovers in the fridge for his dad, who was passed out on the couch, tear tracks down his cheek.

When he walked into Stiles' room, Stiles was on the bed, staring at a book but not making any effort to open it.

Derek sat down on the bed next to him and peered at it. A blue dragon stared back at him with sad eyes, the gold letters spelling out _Eragon_ , the book Claudia and Stiles used to read together when Stiles was old enough to understand it.

Derek took the book and carefully placed it on the shelf next to the bed, and thrust the bowl of pasta at Stiles.

Stiles took it, his fingers curling around the fork. “I'm not hungry,” he said regretfully.

“That doesn't mean you shouldn't eat,” Derek told him gently.

Stiles twisted the pasta around his fork and stared at it, before chewing on it morosely.

He had only managed a few bites before he was giving the bowl back to Derek. And, for the first time in twelve months, Stiles looked Derek directly in the eye, and his eyes welled up with tears.

Derek was hugging him in an instant, and it was so familiar except Stiles was shaking with his sobs, and clutching at Derek as though he were a raft in the middle of an ocean, and Derek's heart was breaking because this boy that he had loved for so long before he knew what it all meant was breaking, his father passed out drunk downstairs and the only other person he had ever counted on ignoring him.

 _Not now_ , Derek thought fiercely. _I'm not ignoring him now, I wouldn't_.

“She's gone,” Stiles repeated over and over. “She's gone and you're... you're gone and I have _nothing,_ dad's-” he couldn't finish the sentence and instead chose to bury his face in Derek's shoulder.

“She asked for you,” he mumbled sleepily. “She...”

Stiles fell asleep like that, crying in Derek's arms, and Derek laid him gently in the bed and tucked him in. He grabbed his phone and sent a text to Scott, and decided he'd wait for him.

When Scott did arrive, his hair was wild as though he had just stumbled out of bed, and his eyes were wide with worry.

“Is he okay? Where is he?” he asked, trying to move past Derek, who was blocking to doorway.

“He's sleeping,” Derek assured him. “But I don't think he should wake up alone.”

Scott brushed a hand through his hair. “Why don't you stay with him then?”

Derek frowned at his feet. “Because he won't want me there when he wakes up.”

Scott stared at him for a moment longer. “You're right,” he said quietly.

Derek nodded and stepped away, but before Scott walked in, he gave Derek a serious look. “He doesn't need you right now.”

Derek raised his eyebrows. “What do mean?” Of _course_ he did, this was _Stiles_ , his mother just died, he needed Derek, didn't he?

“I mean he can't deal with someone he used to trust hanging around straight after his mother died. He doesn't like pity, and he has us now. Sorry, you just... you wouldn't help.” Scott's words weren't unkind, and he patted Derek on the shoulder as he walked in, closing the door behind him.

* * *

**-Two years later**

“Derek? I was wondering if you... if you could do something for me?” Erica asked Derek, her voice hesitant.

Derek looked away from the food on his tray and raised an eyebrow, silently telling her to get on with it.

She ducked her head. “It's just... You know Stiles Stilinski? He's in our year, in our chemistry class.”

Derek tensed at the mention of Stiles' name. After his mother's death two years ago, they continued as usual. About a month ago Stiles smiled politely at Derek while walking past him in the corridor, and Derek spent the rest of the day over-analyzing it.

“Yeah, sort of,” he replied gruffly, taking a bite of his apple.

“Do you think you could talk to him for me? It's just... I really like him. And... I don't know, I just want to know if he's interested in me, you know?”

Derek felt an irrational spike of jealousy. Erica _liked_ Stiles, Derek's neighbor, the guy that still owned batman tops, the boy that had given Derek his lollipop, the boy that Derek was pretty sure he was in love with. The boy that smiled at him as though Derek were little more than a stranger.

Derek swallowed his mouthful. “He's going out with Heather,” he told Erica. He softened his tone and said, “Sorry, Erica.”

Erica bit her lip and sighed. “Damn.” Her tone was casual and disappointed, and Derek looked up at her. “It was more for a friend. He'll be devastated to hear that.”

Derek frowned. “Erica...”

“Oh my god, Derek, seriously, you won't stop looking at him, and he doesn't even _glance_ at you. What the hell?”

Panic gripped Derek, because in all those years of accepting he had feelings for Stiles but not acting on them, he had never even _hinted_ that he liked guys.

Erica's hand was on his arm and she looked him directly in the eyes. “Derek, stop your little gay freakout, I've known you like guys since forever. Stiles in particular.”

Derek could feel his cheeks getting red and he ducked his head. “No, he's, uh... we just used to be friends, that's all.”

“What? Why aren't you anymore?!”

Derek shrugged, taking another bite of his apple and risking a look at Erica.

“Oh, Derek,” she said, her voice full of pity.

“What?” Derek mumbled defensively around his mouthful of apple.

Erica sighed and risked a look around, and then beamed when she spotted Isaac, waving him over.

Isaac sat down. “What is it? Derek, are you okay? You look... flushed.”

Derek scowled at them both, while Erica turned to Isaac. “You're in Scott McCall's chemistry class, right?”

Isaac frowned and nodded. “Yeah.”

Erica patted his shoulder. “You need to request to be his lab partner.”

Isaac raised his eyebrows and looked between her and Derek. “Okay...?”

Derek groaned and Erica shot him a triumphant look.

* * *

 

**-Two months later**

So that's how Derek became friends with Stiles again, and if he had ever imagined them rekindling their friendship (which he had, often), he never imagined it like _this_.

Stiles acted like nothing had ever changed. After a few awkward weeks of Erica forcing them all to hang out, and Lydia catching on and joining in, Stiles was as comfortable around Derek as he was around Scott, most of the time. He didn't walk into the Hale house unannounced anymore, it took him a while to build up a friendship with Derek's family again. Not so much for the sheriff, since he just acted like all the teenagers hanging out in his basement were his own kids, getting them to do chores and giving them all fatherly advice.

Derek didn't know whether he was happy or not to find out that Stiles wasn't dating Heather but that they were fuckbuddies. Because he had assumed that Stiles would be the kind of guy that would wait for the right person, he thought that Stiles was the kind of guy that had _relationships_ but clearly not, since Heather wasn't the last.

And the stupidest decision Derek ever made was to let Kate Argent in. He had had a long day, studying for bio and babysitting his sister and worrying about Isaac, who was in the process of getting a restraining order against his dad while he was in a foster home. And Allison came over to talk physics with him, since she was close to failing and Lydia was spending the weekend at Jackson's.

When it was Allison's time to go home, she texted her aunt to pick her up, and five minutes later, Derek was opening the door to the hottest senior in Beacon Hills High, who gave him a once-over and smirked.

Kate was older, experienced, and intense. And, after a month or two of her manipulative, controlling behaviour, Derek realised that what he was doing was shitty. Or, okay, Erica told him.

“She's fucking crazy, and you're not even into her, Derek! This is insane, and it's not fair on her.” She paused. “Not that I care about her.”

Derek didn't even take that much convincing, but when he was faced with breaking up with her, with her hand on her hip demanding an explanation, he said the first thing that came to mind. _Stiles_.

And when she went psycho, Derek thought he could handle it, the death threats and the phone calls. But the moment that she threatened Stiles, telling him that one day she was going to burn down his house with everyone locked in the basement, Derek freaked out and told his mother.

Who gave him a disappointed look, lectured him on his taste in women, and then called Jackson's dad about getting a restraining order.

Derek locked himself in his bedroom, hating himself for choosing a nutcase as his first girlfriend. There was something wrong with him.

And then Stiles was at his door, and Stiles was in his room, flicking through his CDs and picking _The Smiths_.

They didn't talk about Kate, but they did talk. Or rather, Stiles rambled about school or whatever, cracking jokes with his natural charm, while Derek let himself be slightly less self-loathing, even as he thought that he didn't deserve Stiles.

But he wanted to. And that was when Derek made up his mind to build up the courage to ask Stiles out, on a date.

* * *

**-Three months later**

And, three months after Derek had made that resolution, he happened to glance at the door of the cafeteria briefly while he and Boyd were eating, and saw Stiles talking to someone, obviously confused.

But then someone else stepped into Derek's view, and he was kissing Stiles, and Stiles was kissing him back, and before he knew it Derek had stood up.

Boyd looked up at Derek and then followed his line of sight, his eyes widening slightly as he saw Danny step away from Stiles with a small smile.

Because Boyd was a good friend, he took Derek's tray with his own, dumped it, and dragged Derek out of the cafeteria.

The rest of the day wasn't great. Derek kept playing it over and over in his mind. Stiles and Danny could just be fuckbuddies, like Stiles and Heather were, but that didn't make Derek feel any better. Boyd kept shooting him concerned looks in English, that Derek tried to ignore.

Derek waited too long, he lost his chance. Stiles was going to be kissing other guys and girls and why would he think of Derek more than a friend anyway?

Usually, after school, they'd just hang out in Stiles' basement, which sounded weirder than it was, but Boyd didn't seem to mind when Derek pulled into his driveway and muttered something about, “doing homework”.

But before they could get inside, Stiles peeped over the fence, his hair wet and his smile happy. “Hey guys, want to help?”

Boyd tossed a wayward sponge over the fence and said something about kindergarten, while Derek turned away from the sight of Stiles' hair sticking up and how his shirt clung to his shoulders-

“-Derek?”

Derek turned back reluctantly, trying to smile at Stiles even as his mind replayed that kiss. “Uh, no, I just have to-” He took a step back and stumbled on something behind him, too focused on trying to maintain a convincing smile to be aware of his surroundings. “-do some homework.”

Stiles narrowed his eyes and jumped the fence gracefully, like he used to do when they were younger. Derek stayed where he was as Stiles neared.

Stiles touched his arm gently and Derek tried to not lean into the touch like he would've normally done. “You okay?” he asked, concerned.

Derek tried to not look at his eyes and ended up looking at his chest, the water from the water fight drenching it and turning the white fabric see-through. Derek could make out the surprisingly defined abs and the way his nipples pebbled from the cold, until Stiles crossed his arms and Derek blinked, feeling like a perv.

He cleared his throat and looked at the fence. “Yeah, I'm fine,” he replied, wondering if Stiles was sent here to personally torment Derek with his moles and his hair and the way he seemed to always put his friends and family before himself. It was like dangling a steak in front of a dog.

Derek almost mentioned Danny, almost asked Stiles what he was doing with him, but he thought better of it, not wanting to make things uncomfortable.

Stiles wasn't convinced by his answer, because he's not stupid, but he just patted Derek's shoulder and left.

Boyd followed Derek inside, and once the door closed behind him, he turned to Derek with an unimpressed look. “You are both idiots and I'm not your Oprah.”

Derek raised his eyebrows defensively. “I never wanted you to be.”

Boyd jabbed a finger at him. “We're not discussing your love life, or Stiles' eyelashes or whatever. Mario Kart.”

Derek shifted his weight from foot to foot. “I actually have to do homework.”

Boyd gave him a dirty look that Derek interpreted as, “ _I could be getting high right now_ ”.

* * *

**-The next day**

Derek was not _moping_ . Derek Hale did not _mope_. And he wasn't avoiding Stiles, he just happened to be too busy to sit with them all at lunch. Biology homework was a demanding task.

And his biology homework was what he was staring listlessly at, no motivation to do anything because school had exhausted him for the day, when there was a knock on his door and soft, “Derek?”

Derek cursed under his breath and opened the door, scowling at Stiles as he stood cheerfully in the doorway.

“Hey, Der. What's happening?”

Derek hated that nickname, it was too close to _dear_ , it too much like an endearment, like he was Stiles' _dear_.

Stiles slipped under Derek's arm nimbly and made himself at home on Derek's bed, which wasn't that unfamiliar and didn't give Derek inappropriate thoughts until he started stretching, his shirt lifting up and exposing the soft spray of his treasure trail, the kind of treasure trail that Derek wanted to follow.

So Derek folded his arms and bit out a short, “Nothing.”

“I can see that,” Stiles replied, giving Derek his most judgemental look. “Now are you going to tell me what's wrong or am I going to have to beat it out of you?”

Derek suppressed a snort because although Stiles was admittedly more built than Derek had thought, and although his father had taught him how to throw a punch, Stiles wasn't violent.

“Neither.”

Sties raised an eyebrow. “You're still coming to this concert, right?”

God, Derek didn't want to go to the concert, he didn't even like _Alpha Pack_ , but Erica would eviscerate him if he didn't, so he shrugged. “Yeah.”

Stiles said something else, but Derek was too focused on wanting to pull his shirt back down over his exposed skin or take it off entirely, and he missed it, until Stiles turned to look at him. “Did I do something?”

He sounded kinda guilty, and confused, and indignant at the same time, and Derek realised how much of a jealous asshole he's been. “I'm fine.”

Stiles looked unsatisfied with the answer. “If you're so fine, you can light one up with me and Erica.”

“Erica and I,” Derek corrected automatically, though by the smug grin on Stiles face he had done it on purpose.

He stood up from Derek's bed. “I'll be in the basement. Also your mom wants you to cook dinner.”

Derek knew, without a doubt, he'd follow Stiles.

* * *

- **A week later**

Despite the conversation a week ago, Derek sat in his car while Scott talked at Boyd about his computing class getting Stiles-withdrawal symptoms. Erica had been shooting him dirty looks all week, and Stiles tried his hardest to gloss over Derek's awkwardness by joking around.

When Derek looked in the rearview mirror, almost at Sacramento by then, and saw the jeep stopping, he slowed down immediately, hoping that no one was car sick because if he saw anyone vomiting, he'd reciprocate with his own.

Boy stayed in the car while Scott and Derek got out. Scott knocked on Stiles' window, and Derek didn't hear their conversation, awkwardly standing on the side of the road, but Stiles called out his name and Derek automatically shook his head and stalked back to his car, Stiles following.

And that's how Derek found himself, few minutes later, saying, “Why didn't you tell me you were dating Danny?”

And Stiles' face clouded with confusion. “I'm _what?_ ”

Derek didn't have much time to process his reaction when Boyd said, “Dating Danny. He thinks you're dating Danny.”

Derek glared at Boyd through the rearview mirror and Boyd turned back to his phone, obviously over the conversation.

Stiles laughed. “Yeah, sure, Derek, I'm dating the nicest, hottest guy in the school. _Me_. Seriously, despite my efforts, 'nice' doesn't seem to be my type.” He frowned in that way that meant he was figuring something out, that frown that had always scared Derek. “Why do you think I'm dating Danny?”

“I saw you kiss him,” Derek mumbled.

“It was just a _kiss_ , I don't get why-”

Derek panicked, and interrupted with, “Let's listen to the radio.”

He switched it on and Stiles switched it off immediately, batting Derek's hands away with a glare. “Derek, seriously, I don't get why Danny kissing me would make you avoid me for a week.”

They were dancing around it, and Stiles was going to _know_ anyway, he was going to figure it out anyway, so Derek took a deep breath and said, “Don't you?”

“I...” Stiles frowned. “No, I don't.”

Derek sighed and pulled the car over, metaphorically throwing his chips into the pot and declaring, _all in_.

He got out of the car and Stiles stayed in, biting his lip and staring at the empty driver's seat, so Derek made his way to the passenger side and opened the door, unclicking Stiles' belt for him.

Stiles scrambled out of the car like an awkward baby deer, and Derek didn't even get to focus on how endearing that was before he was surging forward, pressing his lips against Stiles' and walking him back to the the car. He let out a small sigh at the softness of Stiles' lips, the electric, nervous buzzing of his mind melting away into the moment when Stiles pushed back, his hands burying themselves in Derek's hair and tugging slightly. Derek moaned, but Stiles broke it off with a hand to Derek's chest.

“Dude,” he muttered brokenly, his eyes wide and his cheeks flushed. “Dude.” Derek couldn't look away from his mouth, though he should've been focusing on what to say next.

“I...”

“Don't apologise,” Stiles cut in, his eyes narrowing. “Explain.”

Derek took another step back, running a hand through his hair and focusing on Stiles' words. “I... I've been wanting to do that for years,” he admitted, a weight off his shoulders.

“Derek, you're straight,” Stiles said slowly, as though he were still trying to grasp onto reason, as though he were trying to convince himself.

“No, I'm... I'm not. I'm bi.” _And you're the first person I've actually told_.

“Why didn't you tell me?” Stiles asked, his familiar indignance colouring his tone.

Derek raised his eyebrows. “That _was_ me telling you.”

“So... what? You think you can just try out your newfound powers of bisexuality on your best friend?” Stiles accused, his tone going from affronted to hurt.

“What? __No.__ No, Stiles, it's not like that.” He glared at Stiles because wow, way to assume the worst of him. “I have... had feelings for you since before Kate. And then I was lying in bed with her, and listening to her talk about whatever, and I couldn't help thinking that...” He looked into Stiles' pretty amber eyes that he had admired since they were both eight, not bothering to fight the fond tone that took over his voice, “that I would've preferred to be in that basement, with you, listening to you talk about your dad's secret stash of candy or to get high and listen to all of your crazy conspiracies and ideas.”

“I told Kate, and she went crazy. And since then, I've been waiting this whole time to build up the courage to ask you out on a date, like two normal people, and instead I just...”

“Push me up against a car and make out with me?”

That sounded _bad_ , Jesus, Derek should've done it _right_ , he should've asked Stiles out first, should've at least talked about it.

Stiles stepped forward. “Were you avoiding me because you were __pining_ _?”

Derek shuffled his feet, feeling stupid. _Yes._ “No.”

“Oh, you __asshole__ ,” Stiles muttered, and Derek looked up at him just before Stiles' mouth crashed into his, and Derek's mind went blank because _Stiles was kissing him_ , after all this time, Stiles was _kissing him_ and suddenly he didn't feel as pathetic. Derek wound an arm around Stiles' waist just as he heard a wolf whistle and Erica going, “ _ _Get it, Hale!__ ” while the rest of their friends cheered.

* * *

**-Four hours later**

Their first date was casual, silly, and just right. Stiles hooked Derek's ankle with his own under the table and grinned cheekily while he devoured the most expensive thing on the menu. Derek could feel his cheeks going pink but he looked over at Stiles, whose eyes were light and who couldn't keep the smile off his face, and wished he had kept that room key.

“So, you must be hungry,” Stiles started conversationally, wiping his fingers on a napkin. “Pining after someone is a tiring affair.”

Derek snorted and kicked him lightly. “You would know.”

Stiles nodded solemnly. “Yeah, I have _Stiles Hale_ written in all of my diaries. It was pathetic.”

Derek's heart skipped a beat at that name, embarrassingly, but Stiles didn't notice, too busy tearing up his napkin into little squares like he did when he was nervous.

“Derek... Have you ever been with a guy before? Because I _just_ found out you were bi and...” He shrugged.

Derek looked down at his fingers. “Well, no... But, I've seen... I know how it goes,” he stammered awkwardly, suddenly painfully aware of his own inexperience.

Stiles laughed. “Gay porn?” he asked, a little too loudly. They got dirty looks from the family next to them, and Stiles mouthed, _sorry_ , and turned back to Derek with a soft, reassuring smile. “It's okay, we'll take it slow.”

Derek ducked his head. “How long do I have to wait to see your 'school boy' outfit?”

He looked up to see Stiles gaping, his cheeks red. Derek felt him kick his foot as he snickered. “You... I... Never.” Stiles threw a napkin at him. “Don't be cute. You're not cute.”

“Lies,” Derek said gently, unable to look away from those pretty eyes.

“But I do have a batman suit I've been saving for you,” he said, batting his eyelids flirtatiously.

Derek tried to keep a straight face but the mental image was too much and they both burst out laughing.

**Author's Note:**

> So if you liked this, or you want to point out some mistakes, I would welcome a few comments :) And I hope you enjoyed this one, which was harder to write :/ Damn Derek and his angst. Also: Isaac bought the tickets online with his father's card haha.  
> I basically finished this while I was really sick and bored and here is [my tumblr](http://unadulterated-exasperation.tumblr.com/) if you wanna talk about really anything, I like the company :D


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